The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict Summary Study Guide

Detailed plot synopsis reviews of The Other Einstein

Plot Summary Part 4

That is total fiction. I understand this is historical fiction, but to make up major facts that simply aren't true is totally ridiculous. Saying that Mileva created the theory of relativity is just as plausible as saying that Mrs. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb or that George Washington was simply his wife in disguise and that Martha Washington really fought the revolutionary war. All patently untrue.

The second part that is questionable is the plotline where Einstein cheated on Mileva and treated her like shit. There is no evidence of that either. The writer of this book seemed to have an ax to grind and created a work of "herstory" rather than history which showed that Mileva was a brilliant genius and Einstein was an evil man. She seemed to want to show that men bad, women good! Her agenda is obvious and her story was totally ridiculous, because it had no basis in fact.

The other problem with this book was that it was boring. It's a short book because there isn't much of a story. The first half shows the glacially slow romance between Einstein and Mileva, punctuated by dull "science conversations" which can only be arousing to mathematicians. The second half of the book shows Einstein being a terrible husband and boning other woman.

To be fair, I don't think an interesting book could have been written about Einstein's wife. She simply was too minor a figure. There wasn't much that happened in her life. Her only claim to fame was marrying Einstein. This book ultimately failed to be interesting because it focused on a boring subject to write about.

Imagine a book about the George W. Bush years of being president where the author chose to write about... Laura Bush. That would be terribly boring because Laura Bush had no role in the George W. Bush presidency. That's the problem we have in a book about Einstein's wife. It's feminist drivel that presumes to be profound, but ends up being a total work of fiction which is totally uncompelling.